Maine Coon

The Maine Coon is a domesticated cat breed known as a gentle giant due to its medium to large size contrasting with its gentle, sweet, well-balanced personality. Although it started off as a mouser, it is popular as a family, companion and therapy pet that is great with children, dogs and other cats. It is second only to the Persian in popularity.

Maine Coon Traits: What to Know Before You Buy

Before you buy a Maine Coon, there are some important things you need to know:

• This is a fluffy, medium-haired cat! You can expect to be brushing yours regularly. With its high grooming needs, you should brush it every day. However, its fur is straight and smooth and does not tend to tangle or knot.
• It enjoys water. Unlike with other breeds, you will be able to bathe your cat without trouble.
• The Maine Coon is the second-largest domesticated cat breed after the Savannah Cat. That means it will probably need a bigger litter box, depending on its size. Also, it is prone to hip dysplasia with age.

Maine Coon Personality

The personality of the Maine Coon is such that they’re called the “dog of the cat world.” They have traits of loyalty, sociability, affection, docility, playfulness, and intelligence.

The Maine Coon is curious and patient. This makes it easy to train. This outdoor cat became a working breed to hunt rodents, but it’s also commonly used as a therapy cat.

Although initially timid or reserved around strange people and animals, it can quickly warm up and become friendly. While not a lap cat, it does want to be near people, but it is not overly needy, either.

It is not vocally loud but makes chirping and trilling noises, which it is known for. Owners can expect responses in the form of these chirps and trills instead of meows.

Maine Coon Size and Weight

The Maine Coon is a medium to giant-sized domesticated breed of cat with large and slightly rounded eyes, adding to its size with ear and toe tufts along with medium-long fur. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America and the official state cat of Maine, which it is a native of. Hence, it has the ability to adapt to harsh conditions, featuring a heavily boned, muscular build and a smooth, shaggy coat. Its coat is long on the neck, tail, and under the belly but medium on the body.

The size of the Maine Coon tends to be medium, large or giant. On average, the Maine Coon is large, especially the male. While both males and females can weigh 8-12lbs, males average 15-25lbs and females 10-15lbs. This makes females medium-sized and males large to giant-sized. Adults of both sexes are on average 10-16 inches and up to 38 inches in length, including the tail, which can be up to 14 inches in length.

Maine Coon Price

The price of a Maine Coon cat for sale depends on where you get it from. From a rescue, the price is the standard adoption fee. From respected breeders, the price for adults is $1,600-2,000, with show-quality cats costing more than pet-quality ones. From backyard breeders, the cost can be as low as $700.

Maine Coon Kittens

The price of Maine Coon kittens for sale from breeders is $800-2,000. Show-quality kittens for sale cost more than pet-quality ones or those from backyard breeders. If you decide to get your Maine Coon kitten from a rescue, it will likely be a mix, and the cost will be the standard adoption fee. Maine Coon mothers have an average of 5 kittens per litter.

Maine Coon Lifespan

These cats live 9-13 years, with an average lifespan of 12.5 years. A few examples of health issues that can impact their quality of life or their lifespan are arthritis, dental health issues, kidney problems, and cancer. To lessen the risk of health issues with a Maine Coon, consider a respected breeder who will have done health screening of its parents and can provide you with a certificate of health for your adoption. A Maine Coon named Rubble became one of the oldest cats ever at 31 years old.

Maine Coon Breed vs. Mixed

These cats have specific coat color and pattern standards as a purebred, but some of these traits carry over into the Maine Coon mix. As a result, the Maine Coon mix has unique diluted coat colors resulting from hybridization, often with the Siamese or Abyssinian: Chocolate, cinnamon, fawn, caramel, apricot, lilac, and lavender. Unique coat patterns are Abyssinian type ticked tabby (agouti), Himalayan pattern, or either of those mixed with white.

Types of Maine Coon Cats and Colors

These cats are divided into different types depending on coat color and pattern, with there being 84 possible types and 75 officially recognized. Here are some of the most common ones.

• Solid color — Black, blue, cream, white, silver, brown, golden, and red (orange).
• Parti-color — Tortoiseshell, calico (tricolor), bluecream, and tortie/white. This combination is usually only in females, who can inherit more than one color.
• Bi-color — Parti-color, but with one color being white, such as black/white, blue/white, cream/white, and red (orange)/white.
• Tabby — Striped cats with patterns such as classic (swirls with a butterfly pattern on the shoulders), mackerel (narrow, parallel stripes), spotted, and ticked (several bands of color on each hair and barring on the legs and tail). Brown tabby is the most common, while the ticked pattern is accepted only by certain cat associations’ breed standards.
• Tabby with white
• Shaded (smoked)
• Shaded (smoked) with white

Maine Coon vs. Norwegian Forest Cat

The Maine Coon’s origins aren’t exactly known, but it’s said to be related to the Norwegian Forest Cat and the Siberian. Its ancestors were likely Marie Antoinette’s Turkish Angora (or Siberian) cats, brought by Captain Charles Coon in the 1800s. These long-haired cats then mated with short-haired breeds, resulting in the medium-haired shaggy coat.

That being said, there are some subtle differences between the Maine Coon and the Norwegian Forest Cat. For one thing, the Norwegian Forest cat’s fur is even and silkier. There is no ruff around the neck. Secondly is the difference in the head and facial features. The Main Coon has large, slightly rounded eyes, a squarish head, high cheekbones, and a friendly expression, whereas the Norwegian Forest cat has almond-shaped eyes, a triangular head, a flatter nose, and a more serious expression. Lastly is the difference in behavior and personality. The Maine Coon is between independent and needy and enjoys playing and being around people, while the Norwegian Forest cat tends to prefer relaxing alone.